Tomb of Liu Fang

Tomb of Liu Fang

The Tomb of Liu Fang is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Tomb of Liu Fang is located at the foot of Turtle Mountain in Taokeng Village, east of Chaozhou City. The tomb faces north, and above it lies the tomb of his father, Liu Yun. The front of Liu Fang’s tomb is arched like a vaulted gate, with an inscription carved in intaglio on the stele: on the left it reads “1153 (the 23rd year of the Shaoxing reign),” in the center it states “Tomb of Master Liu, Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, and Madam Guo, Lady of Nanhai Commandery,” and on the right it notes “Erected on an auspicious day in November.” The inscriptions are clearly visible, and there was originally a stone sacrificial altar in front of the tomb, but it has since become damaged and displaced.

Liu Fang, styled Fangming, was a native of Chaozhou and the son of Liu Yun. He became a Jinshi (imperial scholar) in 1124 during the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty. In 1139, during the Shaoxing reign, he served as Vice Minister of Rites and concurrently as an editor of the Veritable Records Institute. Fond of medical texts, he compiled ancient medical theories, family-secret prescriptions, and pediatric formulas, commissioning the imperial scholar Wang Shi to edit them into the book *Young Children’s New Book* (*Youyou Xinshu*). This book still exists and was republished twice after 1949.